All those aged 18 and above can register themselves on the CoWIN portal or using the Aarogya Setu app to get vaccinated against COVID-19 starting 4 pm on Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry said as the government gears up to launch the third phase of vaccination drive from 1 May.

"Registration for the newly eligible category for COVID-19 vaccination opens today at 4 pm on cowin.gov.in and Aarogya Setu app," the ministry tweeted.

After registration, taking an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine jab would be mandatory for those aged between 18 and 44 years as walk-ins will not be allowed initially, officials had said.

Those above 45 years can still avail the facility of on-site registration to get vaccinated, they said.

As India witnesses a surge in coronavirus cases, it has decided to allow everyone above 18 years of age to get vaccinated from May 1.

"An increased demand is expected once the vaccination is opened for all. For the purpose of crowd control, registering on CoWIN portal and making an appointment to get a vaccine will be mandatory for those aged between 18 and 45 years. Walks-in will not be allowed in the beginning so that there is no chaos," an official had said.

The inoculation process and documents to be provided to get the jab remains the same.

"Registration of citizens in 18-44 age group will start with only online registration on COWIN from April 28 onwards," the ministry had said.

Also, from May 1, the types of anti-coronavirus vaccine and their prices will be displayed on the CoWIN portal for citizens to make an informed choice at the time of booking an appointment at a private vaccination centre.

While those aged 18 to 44 years will be eligible to receive vaccination on payment from any of the private COVID vaccination centres (CVCs), citizens below 45 years shall also be eligible to receive a jab from a government CVC in a state or Union Territory which decides to lower the minimum cut off age for eligibility.

As provided in the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy document, all priority groups, such as healthcare workers, frontline workers and citizens above aged 45 years or more (as on 01.01.2022), shall continue to be eligible for vaccination free of cost from government CVCs, or on payment from private CVCS.